Oct. 16, 2001
Colonials Sports Round-Up
Basketball Schedules Announced
Swimming and Diving Name New Coaches, Start
Season
As the Colonials swimming and diving teams prepare to host their first
home meet, two new faces will join Head Coach Dan Rhinehart at pool
side. Eric Talbot is the new assistant swimming coach, arriving at GW
from Brigham Young University, where he swam for the Mountain West Conference
champs last season. A 2001 BYU graduate, Talbot will pursue a master’s
degree from the Elliott School of International Affairs.
Krista Irish comes to GW after spending part of last year working at
the US Department of Health and Human Services. The 2000 University
of Maryland graduate spent five years as the diving coach at the Old
Georgetown Club in Bethesda. She also spent three years as an assistant
diving coach at the Montgomery Dive Club.
The Colonials host James Madison University on Oct. 27 beginning at
1 pm in the Smith Center. The women’s team finished in second place
at last year’s Atlantic 10 Championships, so it is looking to stay
at the head of pack in the conference. Look for seniors Nell Friar (100-y
and 200-y A-10 breaststroke champion) and Jocelyn Finch (200-y individual
medley A-10 champion) to lead the women in the pool this season. The
men’s team graduated five strong swimmers, so they will look to
junior David Dillehay (1,650-y freestyle A-10 champion) to spark the
Colonials on to a strong season.
Men’s Basketball Team Announces Schedule
Karl Hobbs will travel to Kentucky to start his GW coaching career as
the Colonials men’s basketball team faces Marshall on Nov. 15 in
the NABC Classic in Lexington. That game marks the beginning of a new
era in Foggy Bottom as Hobbs and his coaching staff will start to implement
their playing style and build around talented junior Chris Monroe. The
All-Conference third team member led the Colonials in scoring last season
with 19 points per game.
GW opens its home slate with the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic on Nov.
23. GW will face Yale, preceded by Binghamton versus Stony Brook. The
third in-season tournament for GW will pit Hobbs against his alma mater
and the team he last worked for — the University of Connecticut
— at the BB&T Classic on Dec. 2. The tournament at the MCI
Center that the Colonials won last season will also feature Maryland
against Princeton.
The conference schedule begins Jan. 3 as St. Bonaventure comes to the
Smith Center. The newest member of the A-10, Richmond, will travel up
I-95 to play Feb. 23. The game against Temple scheduled for Feb. 9 will
be a nationally televised contest on ESPN beginning at noon.
Faculty and staff members have the option of two season ticket plans.
The “Gold Seats” cost $195 (regularly $240) and include tickets
for the BB&T Classic. The “End Zone” seats cost $80 (regularly
$100). Individual game tickets are $18 and $12.
McKeown and Co. Unveil Schedule
Six-time national champion Tennessee highlights the women’s basketball
schedule for the 2001-02 season. Joe McKeown’s Colonials will host
the Lady Vols at the Smith Center on Nov. 27, in a contest that should
prove to be an exciting battle of perennial NCAA Tournament teams. GW
opens its
season at home versus Hartford. Other non-conference home games include
Georgetown, Depaul, and Rutgers.
The women will make two in-season tournament appearances. On Nov. 30,
the Colonials will play in the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational and
square off against Maine and then meet either UNC-Greensboro or Rice.
To close out the calendar year, GW will travel to Malibu, CA, for the
Pepperdine Holiday Classic and play Oklahoma State on Dec. 28. The next
night, the opponent will be either Pepperdine or Brown.
In conference play, La Salle will come to the Smith Center on Jan. 3
to renew A-10 rivalries. Ten days later, GW will play at Xavier on national
television (ESPN2).
All-Conference players senior Elena Vishniakova, junior Erica Lawrence,
and A-10 Rookie of the Year Ugo Oha will lead the Colonials to another
chance at an NCAA berth. Last season, GW finished 22-10, 14-2 in conference
play, and appeared in the NCAA Tournament falling short to Stanford.
Waggoner Promoted to Assistant Baseball Coach
Jeff Waggoner spent last season as a volunteer coach for the Colonials.
But with the departure of Chris Burr to Tulane’s baseball team,
Head Coach Tom Walter didn’t have to look far for a new assistant.
Waggoner, 1998 graduate of Cleveland State, served as a student assistant
at his alma mater and as a pitching coach at the College of St. Rose.
In addition to those positions, Waggoner was a three-year letterwinner
as a catcher at Cleveland State.
“Jeff’s work ethic and experience have proven to be an asset
to this program,” Walter says. “We are extremely pleased that
Jeff was able to stay with us in a full-time capacity.”
ESPN and Atlantic 10 Agree to Five-year Extension
ESPN, Inc. and the A-10 have entered into an exclusive five-year basketball
agreement, beginning with the 2001–02 season and continuing through
2005–06. The agreement is an extension of ESPN’s current contract
with the conference. ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to televise a season-long
schedule of men’s basketball games involving the A-10, one regular-season
women’s basketball game, plus the men’s and women’s conference
tournament championships.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
